Do you remember when educational PC games ruled the day, and companies like The Learning Company and Knowledge Adventure were big names in the hearts of children? Some of us grew up during those days, when computer labs at school were full of victorious cries from virtual covered wagons and eager minds trying in vain to track down the female criminal who had a penchant for red clothing.

We want to relive some of those old memories, just as we’ve been reliving old Final Fantasy and Commodore 64 memories. So, we’ve made a list of old-school educational games we would really like to have in the palm of our hands. Special thanks to MobyGames for providing the screenshots for these historical games.

SuperSolvers – Outnumbered!, Gizmos & Gadgets, Midnight Rescue

The great things about SuperSolvers were its simple mechanics and broad challenge levels. Trying to bring down the Master of Mischief Morty Maxwell (alliteration is never out of style), you play as a baseball-capped protagonist who solves physics, math, and reading puzzles while performing simple actions to elude minions. Most of these games were side-scrollers, so they would probably port pretty easily.

Amazon Trail

The less well-known but still admired brother of Oregon Trail, this game had little kids learning about voyages in the deep rainforest of South America. As a kid from Peru, IN, the protagonist snaps photos of wildlife, talks with natives, and canoes down the largest river in the world. Why? To help the Jaguar King, who is beset with malaria and troubles from European explorers.

JumpStart

More appealing to the younger, precocious crowd are these games which did their best to prepare children for the next grade level. The later ones saw the developers get a bit ambitious, though, adding content that was a bit too challenging. For example, JumpStart 5th Grade featured both art history and bartending.

The Logical Adventures of the Zoombini’s

As if the name weren’t enough, let us tell you that this game was awesome. Every puzzle focused on logic and deductive reasoning, but the adorable, strange protagonists made it feel important. The blue Zoombini creatures lived a peaceful life until their home was invaded by the Bloats, who enslaved the Zoombinis. So they dug a way out and started to escape, one small group at a time. Each group then sails to an island, which happens to be full of logical adventures, with an empty paradise just waiting on the opposite side.

Oregon Trail II & III

We’ve relived some of the more enjoyable parts of the original Oregon Trail with the help of Gameloft, which is definitely a step in the right direction. The next step is porting the more complicated sequels. We want to spend time considering how many bullets to bring, which townies to bring with us, and whether or not we really need salted meat.

Number Munchers

This game is so simple, it practically ports itself. You are a muncher, and you are put on a grid of numbers. The grid has instructions, like ‘Multiples of 5’ and you have to munch the numbers that satisfy it. Careful for the Troggles though– they’re dangerous. (Update: Readers have pointed out that Number Munchers is already available on the iPhone!)

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

We’re a little surprised that this one hasn’t been ported yet. This game taught people about a multitude of different locales while tracking down criminals and putting them in a prison that probably had a revolving door. It was wildly popular, and even spun-off several TV shows. Just remember, ‘Your success will be noted in your employee record’.

Castle of Dr. Brain

This game focused on math and logic, but it started a series of four Dr. Brain games that spanned a lot of different subjects. And really, what is more important than teaching kids how to become the assistant of a mad scientist? We can’t think of anything.

Yukon Trail

To round out the trail-themed games, we think Yukon Trail would be pretty sweet on the iDevice. Though it was not as good as Oregon Trail, it took people into the heart of the gold rush and the heat of staking claims and mining for gold. This one could even stand for a few spruce-ups on the development side.

There are others, to be sure, but these would be a good and popular start in our opinion. Sadly, the renaissance of these games and the companies that made them was in the ‘˜80s and ‘˜90s, and most of the companies have either closed or changed hands so many times that they may as well have closed. If they are to be ported, it is probably up to entrepreneurial developers to obtain the required licenses and port it themselves. Here’s hoping they do.

Recent Stories

Support our sponsors

Advertisement

Our Awesome Email Newsletter

Enter your email to subscribe to our daily email on what's hot in mobile games. Or, take a look at the archive.

Email Address *

And it of course should go without saying, but we'll say it just to make it 100% clear -- we will never share your email address with anyone.

Connect with us

Latest Recommended Games

Industrial Toys has released it’s follow-up to the great Midnight Star. In Renegade, a much more casual game, the focus is on short bursts of play and the never-ending constant upgrading of weapons and gear. This game brings the great controls for a mobile FPS that the previous version had, but focuses less on the story and more on the frantic gameplay.

Heroes of Loot 2 is an update to the original that brings even more to love of the original. This time around the player chooses two player types to take into the dungeon, switching between them in the game as needed.

Heroes of Loot 2 is 50% off right now for launch.

After their job, of keeping the dungeons in balance, was done, our heroes needed a new job. Roaming the lands they found a call for heroes, a castle in need, possible even a damsel in distress?

Pick two heroes to take into the adventure, controlling both heroes and using their special skills to navigate the dangerous castle hallways, rooms and floors. Switching between the two characters to solve quests, puzzles, and of course clear the dungeons of all evil.

Human Resources Corporation, from some of the same fine folks that brought us World of Goo is a puzzle games that makes some of the basics of programming into a fun little exercise.

The premise is that the player is a new recruit in a corporation that need to tell other in game characters how to move and act by giving a set of program commands to complete tasks. It’s a great introduction to the logic used in programming and a fun little game with great personality. Which is expected considering the team that created this.

Temple Run 2 has done it again. Expanded into a whole new world with the Blazing Sands expansion. Available now in the game.

Touch Arcade notes:

It’s called “Blazing Sands,” and as you can see from the above trailer, you’ll be running through canyons along side raging rapids and Egyptian-y looking statues while marauding vines are smacking you in the face… Which really isn’t much of a surprise as vines in video games seem to be jerks almost 100% of the time. Of course there’s new stuff to unlock too between new outfits and Blazing Sands artifacts. If you collect ’em all, you’ll even get a swanky new hat.

From Martin Magni, the developer of the great Odd Bot Out, Mekorama hit the App Store this week. This charming puzzle game has the player guide a robot through a series of very unique 3D puzzles. The puzzles have shades of Monument Valley without the Escher inspired vibe.

One of the features that really sets this game apart from others is the integrated level editor. This lets players create their own levels and share them via a simple QR code integrated image. Take a look at the new levels shared on Twitter with the #Mekorama hashtag. I’ve even created one to test the path finding skills of that little robot.

Mekorama is free in the App Store with a pay what you want price model.

There have been a lot of games that have aped the style of Monument Valley, but not that have really gotten the idea and complexity of the game. That is until Evo Explores. Evo Explores really understand the game and does a great job of adding puzzle types to the original that it unashamedly takes inspiration from. It’s so good that members of the Monument Valley team have remarked how impressed they are.

But beside that, the game can stand on its own as well. It’s a great suspension of belief type puzzler with new and interesting mechanics and is just plain fun. The story that goes along is a little weak, but then again that’s just a small part of the game. Well worth a download.

Support our sponsors

Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Watch, iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Other terms may be trademarks of their respective companies.